Pokey Mom

rdf:langString Pokey Mom

rdf:langString "I will not "let the dogs out""

rdf:langString Mike Scully

rdf:langString Bob Anderson

rdf:langString Tom Martin

rdf:langString The Simpsons sit on the couch and the wall spins around, revealing on the other side a cackling Vincent Price and a scared Ned Flanders who is shackled upside-down.

rdf:langString Bruce Vilanch as himself

rdf:langString Charles Napier as the warden

rdf:langString Michael Keaton as Jack Crowley

rdf:langString Robert Schimmel as a prisoner

rdf:langString CABF05

rdf:langString "Pokey Mom" is the tenth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 14, 2001. In the episode, Marge befriends Jack Crowley, a convict who she believes has some artistic potential. With Marge's help, Jack is granted parole and finds a mural-painting job at Springfield Elementary School. Meanwhile, Homer suffers from a back injury after being kicked by a bull at the prison rodeo and goes to see a chiropractor. Despite this, his pain remains and it is not until he accidentally falls backwards onto a garbage can that his back injury disappears. Homer makes a successful business out of this injury-healing garbage can, much to the dismay of chiropractors in town. The episode was written by Tom Martin and directed by Bob Anderson, and it features guest appearances from Michael Keaton as Jack, Charles Napier as a prison warden, Robert Schimmel as a prisoner, and Bruce Vilanch as himself. The title "Pokey Mom" is a pun on the video game franchise "Pokémon" and the term "pokey", a nickname given to prisons, though it was noted that the episode name was chosen to attempt to cash in on the success of the Pokémon series. "Pokey Mom" has been met with generally negative reviews from critics, being described as bland and drawn out. The staff members of the series received complaints from chiropractors after it aired, and some chiropractors have characterized the portrayal of the profession in the episode as stereotypical. Around 8.79 million American homes tuned in to watch the episode during its original airing, and in 2009 it was released on DVD along with the rest of the episodes of the twelfth season.